Labonte, Allen Pull Fast 1 At Talladega

TALLADEGA, ALA. — Bob Uecker had a more realistic chance of sitting in the front row for Sunday's NASCAR Winston Select 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Terry Labonte and Loy Allen, however, claimed those choice seats during Friday's pole qualifying by mustering performances that ranged from surprising to simply shocking.

Labonte delivered the surprise by winning the pole, a position that has eluded him for the past 109 races dating to 1991. He captured the top spot as his Chevrolet Monte Carlo reached 196.532 mph around the 2.66-mile tri-oval.

It was the fastest qualifying speed at Talladega since Bill Elliott ran 199.388 mph for the 1990 Winston 500.

''This is just one of those places where a driver can't screw up qualifying too much,'' said Labonte, who earned his 21st career pole. ''We were really good off the truck and we kept tuning it in practice. We picked up a little bit in qualifying.''

Allen delivered the shocker, resurrecting a Winston Cup career that was on hold after splitting with the Hooters racing team after the TranSouth 400 in late March.

Allen latched on with Tri-Star Motorsports for this event and made an immediate impression by posting the second-fastest speed (195.977) in the team's Ford Thunderbird.

''I can't say enough about this team,'' Allen said. ''We wanted to be in the top five today, if there was any way we could. The Tri-Star team has been here testing many times over the years and they've learned a lot while they've been here at this race track.''

Even Labonte was a bit dumbfounded by the identity of his front-row partner.

''I didn't even realize that they were even here,'' he said.

Labonte and Allen were among 22 drivers who topped last year's top qualifying speed of 193.298 mph. Mark Martin (195.728), Bobby Labonte (195.664) and Dale Jarrett (195.604) rounded out the top five qualifiers. Jeff Gordon, who has a series-best four poles, was sixth at 195.512.

NOTE: NASCAR officials fined car owner-driver Ricky Rudd and crew chief $50,000 after an illegal apparatus was found on the team's Ford Thunderbird during Friday's pre-practice inspection. The apparatus was a hydraulic system that would adjust the height of the rear of the car through the clutch pedal.